The word Pongo means gorge, or ravine, where the river bursts through the mountains. To the Machiguenga Indians the Pongo de Mainique is known as the Place of the Bears. Their legend envisions a river demon in the form of a bear that lurks in the rapid, swirling waters of the Urubamba River.

In November 1998, a confederacy of intrepid adventures set out from Cusco traveling through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and across the glaciers of the Vilcabamba Mountain Range to meet their Destiny: A Journey down the mighty Urubamba River into one of the most exciting Adventure Regions of Peru. This first Adventure Expedition to the Pongo was organized by The Center for the Development of Indigenous Amazon Peoples (CEDIA), The Selva Sur Conservation Organization, and Expedition Photography in collaboration with the Machiguenga Indians of Timpia.